LaidOff camp in Wayne offers free advice to jobless

Since being laid off in June, Amy Frank has struggled to keep busy. The former Transamerica regional vice president has learned CPR, rode in a 60-mile bike race, helped start a consulting firm and completed a half-marathon.

“I’m not really the person to sit back and wallow in it,” said Frank, 34, who lives in Manhattan.

And, tomorrow, in yet another attempt to make sense of a post-employment world, she’ll head to the daylong LaidOff Camp at William Paterson University in Wayne. The event, featuring résumé writing and career advice, is aimed at helping those who are out of work get back into the market.

Frank said that before now, looking for work was something she’s never really had to deal with.

“I’ve been doing this for so long, ” said Frank, who has worked in sales for 17 years. “I’ve always been recruited.”

The five-hour long session — which runs from noon to 5 p.m. — is similar to one held earlier this year in Miami, San Francisco and New York.

“It’s a scary time out there and people are really frightened,” said Randy Nathan, the president of Project NextGen, a firm comprised of two business coaches. “We just want to let people know that they’re not alone.

”Project NextGen is sponsoring the event, along with the Florham Park-based Slater-Trainor Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Mitch Slater, a financial planner at the Slater-Trainor Group, said he began to organize the event this summer after reading about similar seminars.

“I’ve had a lot of clients, and friends, that don’t know really where to go,” he said. “They haven’t gotten really great out-placement help.”

Slater said at least 60 people have already registered for the camp, which is free, and is capped at 100 attendees. Those wishing to attend have until 4 p.m. today to sign up at laidoffcampnj.eventbrite.com, he said.

Frank said she’s hoping LaidOff camp can re-ignite her career before the rent on her more than $3,000 a month Park Avenue apartment comes due. She estimates it might take as much as a year before she’s able to land a job similar to the one she lost. Her newly minted consulting firm, which seeks to provide conference call solutions for clients, is still building capital.